


Fluff And Angst

by ChingKittyCat



Category: Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Permanent Injury, Pre-Canon, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 23:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13201284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChingKittyCat/pseuds/ChingKittyCat
Summary: Prince Fluff is a pretty angsty and slightly frustrated kid. Well, when he has no friends his age group and his parent's are off vacationing (and still haven't sent him any souvenirs), it's no wonder he's a little bit moody.





	Fluff And Angst

    Get up, tend to eyebrows, put on crown, go out, talk to the ministers, talk to the civilians, do stuff he was told to do, eat, do more stuff, eat again, wash face, take off crown, go to sleep. That's the basic routine, give or take a couple steps. It's been like this ever since Prince Fluff was essentially given full control of the throne.. Holy geez was it boring. How his mom and dad could do this stuff no problem and keep a smile on their faces was really beyond him.  
    Regardless, he's trying his best to fill their places whilst they're off on that vacation. Even if it has been a couple years, Fluff's trying his best to make sure that for whenever they do come back, the kingdom will be in a better shape than what they left in it. It wouldn't be too hard to do, since basically every day was just a list of chores with all the steps laid out for him.  
    Dull, boring, completely indepth steps that literally a Waddle Dee could do, but whatever. Fluff had to do them, and ever since he'd been given his royal chorelist, he was more than happy to complain about it every single day. That also included today. This moment, too, infact.  
    "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-"  
    "Young prince-"  
    "-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-"  
    "Prince Fluff, you must get up."  
    His current task was to get up out of bed, and Fluff was not very enthused about it. No, not very enthused at all. He'd kept insisting on sleeping in for longer, but Yin-Yarn— the royal adviser, magician, and religious nutcase all wrapped up in one poncho— was not having any of it.   
    "Do not make me carry you out of bed."  
    Yin-Yarn warned, only making the blue yarn puff yank the covers over his head in a most dramatic fashion. To the outside observer, Fluff had been reduced to nothing more than a simple lump underneath a luxurious dark blue blanket. He groaned, only showing how much he still didn't want to get up. Yin-Yarn, however, was not deterred.   
    Fluff could tell the guy was sitting on one side of the bed now from the slight tightening of the sheets on that side. Yin-Yarn was literally just a poncho, a face, and some hands, so Fluff was sorta unsure as to how the guy weighed literally anything. Maybe he was just pressing his hands down on that side of the bed hard enough to create an illusion of weight.  
    "Alright, since you're so tired, I'll just sing you a lullaby to help you go back to sl-"  
    "NO," Prince Fluff shoved the blankets off of him as he squabbled out of bed, "THANKS I'M GOOD."  
    The last thing anyone wanted was for this guy to churn out some horribly loud, purposfully ear-grating cords.   
    After hitting his face promptly on the floor, Prince Fluff got up all dignified, grabbed his crown off his end-table, then marched to the bathroom to freshen up. When Fluff's eventually back out of his bathroom, Yin-Yarn is gone from his room, probably off bothering someone else. Fluff swears that guy gets a kick out of finding people not doing what they're supposed to be doing.  
    Going out of his room and down the castle corridor, Fluff blankly walks by some of the Waddle Dees and miscellaneous castle staff. Everything seemed to be nice and in order, as usual. Patch Land was a relatively safe place with little problems.. As in, like, no monster attacks or the planet being destroyed or anything. Instead, all Fluff had to deal with was socio-economic problems and general citizen satisfaction and blah blah blah..  
    Eventually he's at his throne room, where Yin-Yarn's already waiting. Fluff sat his yarn bottom down on the red cushioned throne which laid at the end of a red carpet. Adjusting his crown to be slightly off-center from his head, Fluff reclined in his seat like the boy-king he was.  
    "Hey, mustache," Fluff got the attention of his royal mustached adviser immediately, "why don't you just do this stuff. I mean, it's basically like I'm just here to be the face of your decisions."  
    "I don't have the same authority as you do, Prince. Plus, once your mother and father return, they most likely would be very very proud if they found out  _you_ were the one running the kingdom in their absence, wouldn't they?"  
    Fluff thought it over.. His mom and dad were nice people and all, yeah, and he would love to get some extra praise for whenever they got back. It's also not like Yin-Yarn was having Fluff sign off on anything the blue puff didn't already agree with.   
    "You got a point there."  
    Fluff resigned, sinking back further into the pillows of his seat. Yin-Yarn takes this as a sign Fluff's ready to hear what today's chores list is, so the magician goes and claps his hands, summoning in what Fluff called 'The Listhaver'. They were basically just.. A Waddle Dee. But with a list in their hands. Fluff, as much as he liked Waddle Dees, absolutely hated The Listhaver. Just because of their occupation, nothing else. It always brought him a feeling of dread to see this Waddle Dee waddle over to him and give him just a gigantic checklist of royal chores.  
    Today was no different. They show up, they hand Fluff the rolled up list, then promptly leave. That's their entire job. Fluff would literally do anything to have such a simple job like that.. Instead he's stuck doing boring stuff every day, with basically only an hour of actual free time before he's forced to go to bed.   
    Fluff groans thinking about his lack of free time, then unravels the list to see what's there. Another groan, then a grumble. Both from Fluff, but from two different places. The grumble was from the boy's stomach. Fluff didn't even need to open his mouth for the royal adviser to clap his hands again, summoning a large dining table in the middle of the room in seconds. Ah, the power of trap doors and lifts..  
    Fluff doesn't even need to get out of his throne, since the table is so close to it. It's great.   
    "Breakfast is running late, I'll go check up on them."  
    Yin-Yarn said, heading off as soon as possible to go check up on the food 'sitch. Fluff just sorta sat there, staring blankly at the long list of stuff he had to do.   
    It's like.. Ugh. Who cares. The entire thing is so boring and it's all stuff adults should be doing, not him! He's still a kid! He wants to go outside, do fun stuff, not go outside and talk to people about taxes or whatever!   
    "Boooriiinnggg..."  
    Fluff grumbled, rolling up the list into a nice tube. It's days like these where he wished something bad would happen. But, nope, everything was probably going to be the same as usual. Typical, boring stuff, waiting for mom and dad to get back.. Whenever that was going to be.  
    Fluff really hoped they'd come back soon so he could shove all this stuff onto his parents again. It actually sorta ticked him off how they left without even so much as a word of a goodbye to him. They didn't even send him any postcards, either! Like, what's up with that, right!? No matter how many times Yin-Yarn said they'd traveled off planet and the galactic postage system still wasn't very good, Fluff was still unsatisfied.   
    It shouldn't take years for at least one dang post card! It's not like the mail was hidden from Fluff either, he always got first look-sees whenever that gigantic bag of it arrived. Even if Patch Land had the most incompetent mail deliverers in the entire galaxy, they should have at least been able to get a single card over the course of the years.   
    That's, of course, assuming there was a card being sent in the first place.  
    "Dumb, dumb parents, leaving me with these dumb chores, dumb responsibilities, dumb.."  
    Fluff vented, smacking the dining table with the paper mindlessly.   
    "As soon as they get back I'm giving them a piece of my mind with this dumb paper!"  
    Fluff declared, not even bothering to get up and strike a pose with the thing. Not like there's anyone around to impress with his theatrics, so, like, no reason to. Instead, Fluff does the exact opposite and sinks even further into his chair.   
    A couple boring minutes later, the chefs and waiters all come barreling into the throne-dining room hybrid. Yin-Yarn ushered them in before going and taking a seat near the boy-king's throne. Even poncho-wearing one-step-away-from-being-a-court-jester-esque advisers needed to have food as well. A few other important people come into the room, filling it with morning chatter as plates are laid out. As soon as it's infront of the guy, Yin-Yarn's over here putting two fingers to his temple and closing his eyes.  
    "Do you have to pray before touching every single piece of food you have, mustache?"  
    Fluff sassed, watching Yin-Yarn not even stir from his current position.  
    "Yes, and I wish you would as well, young prince."  
    "I don't believe in that mumbo-jumbo. 'The Stars' this, 'The Stars' that. It's like on the same level as fairy tales."  
    Yin-Yarn was still unfazed by Fluff's blatant atheism, going on and continuing silently with overtly harmless prayer. Fluff rolled his eyes, just going ahead and digging into his fluffy fabric pancakes. Good, as always.   
    Fluff blocks out the chatter of the rest of the table as he just focuses on his food. Like, what is he supposed to say? He's a kid, forced to sit the adults table. Full of adults. Who don't share any of his hobbies or interests. His pancakes could keep a conversation interesting for longer than anyone else in this hall combined. That includes Yin-Yarn.  
    Speaking of, while Fluff was scarfing down breakfast, the poncho magician went and took the chore list from Fluff to look over it himself. Fluff didn't mind, naturally. He's got a conversation going on with his pancakes that he needed to attend to. Very important.  
    Breakfast is done within a couple minutes, and the aristocrats all file out the door they came from. Fluff and Yin-Yarn followed after, with Waddle Dees passing them to go and clean up the dining table. Yin-Yarn's still holding the list for Fluff.  
    "So, young prince, which one of these shall be attended to first?"  
    "They're all the same boring farming chores.. It doesn't matter which one we do first, they're all equally boring."  
    Fluff groaned, wanting to flop over dramatically on a chair. But, like, he's in a hallway, so there's no nearby chairs to melodramatically flop on.  
    "Hmm.."  
    Yin-Yarn looked over the list once more before rolling up and tucking it into his poncho.  
    "How about we go and visit the orphanage, young prince?"  
    Fluff looked at his tall adviser with confusion. What's this guy on about? Orphanage?  
    "Mustache, we don't have an orphanage in Quilty Square."  
    Yin-Yarn's got this sort of smug look on his face as the two continue down the castle's hallway.  
    "Yet."  
    "Yet?"  
    Yin-Yarn suddenly speeds up considerably, making Fluff startle, stumble, then chase after the floating poncho just as quickly.  
    "Hey! Wait up!"  
    Fluff called, rushing all the way to the castle's exit and thusly into the market. Any spectators watching the blue yarn prince chasing his adviser watched on in bemusement before going back to their regular routines. Yin-Yarn only showed signs of slowing once they'd reached into the other streets of Quilty Square.   
    Fluff huffed and wheezed. He hadn't run for so long in a while.  
    "G-Geez mustache, giving me a workout here..!"  
    Fluff complained, coming to a complete stop to collect himself. He'd put his hands on his knees.. If he had them. He's sort of a yarn orb, so like.. He doesn't have either.  
    "Just a bit farther."  
    "Uuuggghhhh, just carry meeee.."  
    Fluff groaned. If Yin-Yarn didn't wear those weird glasses, Fluff was sure he would've saw the guy's eyes roll. Regardless, Fluff is picked up in the magician's disembodied hands like he's nothing but a bit of string weight-wise.  
    "You must build up some leg muscle, prince."  
    Fluff is pretty sure that's impossible. Everyone here was made out of yarn. Like.. There's no muscles  _to_ be built.  
    "You're one to talk! You float everywhere!"  
    Yin-Yarn snickered at the retort, not providing any counter-argument. As Yin-Yarn floated further towards wherever he was going, Fluff looked around. The sky seems really clear today. Nice stuff.. Perfect weather to think. So, think Fluff did.  
    An orphanage meant orphans.. Orphans were kids. Kids were people he could relate to. Kids were in his age group. Did Yin-Yarn manage to disguise a royal chore as something that Fluff would actually enjoy doing?  
    There's a big, large, colorful building that comes into view. Made out of fabric, just like everything else. It had two floors and wow did it have a fantastic playground out front. A jungle gym, swings.. If Fluff didn't know any better, he would've thought this place was a private school.  
    Though.. It was empty. No kids out front, and from the lack of noise, there were probably none in there as well. Fluff jumped out of Yin-Yarn's hand and waddled up the pseduo-stone pathway that cut through the denim grass yard. Using his blue yarn whip, he grabbed onto the red door's handle and swung it open, walking inside. Yin-Yarn followed after attentively.  
    Inside, there's a little check-in counter, like it's a hotel. The counter is attended to by this music-note looking creature. It's face was on the round part of it's body. It's got long eyelashes. Must be a girl.  
    "Oh, Prince Fluff! It's an honor for you to visit!"  
    Yup, that's a girl voice.  
    "And you too, adviser."  
    She tacks on quickly, giving Yin-Yarn a polite nod. Man, even though Fluff is so tiny, people always somehow manage to forget that Yin-Yarn's following him around. It's the title, probably.  
    "I was under the assumption the children were here already."  
    Yin-Yarn stated. The note-creature floated out from behind the counter, sort of hovering infront of the stairs in this 'reception room'.  
    "They're still on their journey over! They should be here in a couple hours. Though, there's two from Space Land that're already upstairs."  
    "Oh, good. That's what I was hoping. Prince, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to meet you."  
    Yin-Yarn didn't have to tell Fluff twice. Instantly assuming he'd be able to find them on his own, he went and rushed past the note woman, going up the stairs in a flurry that no one would be able to stop.  
    Upstairs, there was a big, open room, decorated with a bunch of educational stuff. There was a rug on the floor that showed Patch Land and all it's little segments. Posters on the walls about shapes and colors and what not.. Very elementary school-esque feeling. Not that Fluff would know, he never went to public school.  
    On the mat, there's two kids. One was a Waddle Dee with a glowing cyborg eye, the other that weird species that Dom Woole was. Nevertheless to say, Fluff is pretty excited to talk to them. He rushed on over, interrupting whatever game the two were playing (something to do with blocks). He got these really blank, empty stares from them. They seemed to only be like, a year younger than him..  
    "Hey! I'm Prince Fluff! How are ya?"  
    The two blinked, looked at eachother, then back at him.  
    "Are you getting sent here too? I didn't think that could happen to you, cuz you're royalty."  
    The orb asked, looking curious.  
    "Huh?"  
    Fluff tilted his head (and by association, basically his entire body) in confusion.  
    "No, I'm just here to hang with you guys."  
    "Oh."  
    Fluff took a quick sit down and looked at what they were playing. Well, it wasn't so much playing as it was just doing stuff with toys and all that. Like, roleplaying, maybe? That's what Fluff gathered.  
    The Waddle Dee couldn't seem to talk, only make weird beeps and boops— all of which seemed to correspond to the flashing of the Waddle Dee's robotic eye. While Fluff couldn't understand what the kid was saying, he thought it was pretty cool regardless. Having a robot eye.. Yeah, it's like a hero in a super cool sci-fi book or something!  
    The roleplay doesn't translate very well for Fluff, though. Just watching it isn't any fun, and he can't speak the weird robotspeak that the Waddle Dee's using, so.. Like, Fluff feels a bit really left out here. Not all too fun.   
    "Uhh, so, like, what do you guys do for fun?"  
    Fluff suddenly interrupted, making them pause their little play to talk to him. The Waddle Dee seemed pretty annoyed by him doing that, but oh well. Water under the bridge for Fluff.  
    "We do this and play with computers and stuff. I don't think this new place has any computers.."  
    "Oh yeah, you're from Space Land, aren't you?"  
    "Yeah."  
    ...  
    ...  
    A nice, awkward silence lingers. Fluff can practically feel it weighing down on him.  
    "Mmmaybe I should go."  
    "Okay, bye."  
    Fluff got up and left. Just like that. Why was talking to people who he should've had stuff in common with.. Hard? He's a kid, he's supposed to automatically be good at talking with other kids, shouldn't he? Oh, there's more kids coming in a couple hours, right? Maybe it's just those two that he had a hard time connecting with.  
    Fluff went and walked down the stairs.  
    "I believe he'll have a lot to relate to with these kids."  
    Yin-Yarn's talking to the woman at the counter. Fluff paused on the stairs to eavesdrop. Maybe they'd say something interesting.. Probably not, though.  
    "Fluff could use the interaction with kids his age, especially kids like himself. I'll arrange to bring him back at least bi-weekly, if that'd be fine."  
    "Oh, yes, no problem at all! We'd love to have regular visits from him!"  
    Awwww yes. Finally, a chore Fluff is going to enjoy doing. Well, suppose it isn't a chore if Fluff actually likes doing it, huh? More just a task. This is gonna be great, he can finally have some actual friends and stuff! Friends that aren't boring adults!  
    Fluff rushed down the stairs the rest of the way, more than happy to jump at Yin-Yarn and give him a startling hug. Sure enough, the guy was extremely startled by the incoming yarn boy, moving aback (but not far enough to escape).  
    "You mean it!? I can come back and make friends and stuff??"  
    Yin-Yarn seemed extraordinarily tense before Fluff spoke those words, and relaxed directly after. He hugged the prince the best he could with his disembodied hands.  
    "Eavesdropping, prince? Yes, you can come back."  
    Oh man, there was no greater news that Fluff could've spied on than this. Fluff gave this great big grin, only for Yin-Yarn to give him this sort of fatherly smile in return.   
    The hug went on for a second more before Fluff was released.  
    "Now, we still have things to do. If you'd like, we can come back once they're done."  
    "Yeah! Okay, sure!"  
    Fluff then suddenly remembered the rest of his list all had to do with the same stuff; farming and agriculture. His face shifted immediately from one of happiness to one of someone who tasted something burnt. Yin-Yarn gave a chuckle as he ushered the blue boy out the door, waving back to the note woman at the counter.  
  


* * *

  
    Yin-Yarn was true to his word as always. Fluff returned to the orphanage weekly instead of bi-weekly. At first, though, he was having quite a bit of trouble connecting with the other kids. He didn't understand the games they played, and they were all a bit strange towards him. Like, some weird sort of coldness that wasn't out of cruelty or anything, but.. It was really indescribable. They were excluding him, yes, but it wasn't out of any malicious intent. They weren't bullying him or anything, they just didn't know how to include him.   
    That was effective, still now.  
    Fluff sat and watched as the other kids played some really cool games. He'd tried to play with them, but he wasn't any good. He played it all off and was cool about being bad at their games, but his pride was still wounded anyways. His pride was being even more hurt because of the general exclusion. It made the fluff boy feel just.. Bad.  
    He hadn't ever felt like this before. Fluff had felt lonely, yes, but that's when he was actually by himself. To be lonely in a place full of people.. Now that, that was new to him. At least the adults understood what he was doing and were able to talk to him without trailing off into awkwardness. At least there was some common ground between Fluff and the adults; his title and duties.   
    Here, there's no common ground except for age. Fluff had gone up to kids and heard them talking about shows he didn't watch, or playing with trading cards he'd never seen before. Yeah, he'd try to talk to them about it in order to gain some info on it, but like.. They just passed him off as someone who 'didn't understand' as soon as they explained.  
    The kids treated him like an adult; someone who didn't understand what they were doing. Fluff doesn't want to be an adult, he wants to be a kid, just like the rest of them. He wants to be included.. But with his limited free time back at the castle, he didn't have time to watch their shows or practice their card games. He was too busy doing adult-like things.  
    Fluff just.. Sat on the denim grass, watching the other kids play on the jungle gym and form into their little friend groups. Friend groups.. Things dang near impossible to get into unless you know all the people in them. Impenetrable social fortresses that Fluff had no hope of seeing the inside of. It made him.. Jealous. Yeah, that's the word. Jealous.  
    Jealous, bitter, and sad.   
    Other people got to have friends but he didn't because he was smarter than them? Because he had a job and they didn't? Because he was better than them? More responsible than they'll ever be? More mature? It was garbage. They should've been flocking to him because of his job. Because of his title. He's the one who's keeping their sad little orphanage open, on  _his_ land! Fluff lets them live here and they can't even so much as show a little bit of appreciation towards him? They can't even try to connect with him? They don't even try to!  
    "Hey, what're you doing by yourself?"  
    Suddenly, a voice pulls him out of his angry thoughts. He looks over to the voice's source. It's a puff like him, except green. Got these cartoonish eyelashes and eyebrows just as thick as his. Wearing a blue bow (made of yarn, of course).. Must be a girl.  
    "Brooding."  
    "Brooding?"  
    "It's like.. Being angry and quiet."  
    "Ooooh. Okay.. Well, can you stop brooding? I wanna talk to you."  
    ..Huh? This girl just shows up and suddenly wants to talk to him? Okay, he guesses. It's better than being proven right about all his angry thoughts. Man, she really swooped in at the right time.  
    "Okay, sure.."  
    Fluff sounded a bit dismissive about it, but she sat down next to him anyways.  
    "Orphans like us should never really be alone, y'know? Gotta be friends with eachother."  
    "I'm not an orphan, but yeah. I'd like some actual friends."  
    The girl looked at him a bit strange. Like he'd said a lie that she knew the truth to. She chuckled a bit.  
    "Are your parents on a 'vacation' or something?"  
    "Yeah."  
    ...  
    ...  
    Another awkward silence.  
    "Well, yknow, I heard that your parents got burnt alive by a dragon."  
    Fluff looked at this green puff like she's literally insane. Where the heck did that come from? Was she just trying to keep the conversation going despite all the odds by using blatant lies?  
    "Well, you heard wrong."  
    "It was all over the tvs and papers, I remember it."  
    ...  
    Distantly, there's some rumbling thunder. Fluff looks towards the sky, seeing some distant greyish clouds. He turns his attention back to the girl, who seems to be unfazed by the weather.  
    "How old are you?"  
    Fluff just needed to know..  
    "I'm twelve. You?"  
    "Ten."  
    Fluff never remembered his parents. They left for their vacation before Fluff had any real memories of them. He knew what they looked like, but nothing much else. That was six years ago. If this girl was six or five when she heard this happening.. She would've remembered it.   
    "You're lying."  
    "No, I'm twelve."  
    "Not about being twelve! About my parents!"  
    Yin-Yarn told Fluff that his parents were on a long intergalactic vacation. Yin-Yarn never lied. He especially wouldn't lie about something so horribly serious, like the fate of Fluff's parents.  
    "I'm not lying! Go ask someone else, they'll tell you the same thing."  
    Fluff's eyes narrowed at that. He got up, shoved the girl over, then stomped off. Yeah, he sure was going to ask someone else. He wasn't going to believe lies like that. Dragons didn't even exist.   
    Fluff just. Leaves the orphanage's little plot and goes off down to the market. Yin-Yarn was still in the orphanage building, so the guy didn't follow Fluff when he let. Thank goodness, because Fluff feels like if Yin-Yarn were around right now, something bad would happen.   
    Going through the streets, Fluff watched as Waddle Dee guards passed by on their patrols. They looked at him, waved, then continued on their ways. Fluff had nary the time nor will to wave back. He was.. Well, he wasn't in the mood, to say the least. He just needed someone.. Someone he knew didn't have any personal connections to Yin-Yarn.  
    After a bit of a search, Fluff found a nice little fabric shop. Entering, he looked around at all these large, rolled up fabrics that laid up against racks of other fabrics. The vendor here was a weird looking egg. Had ears like a cat and a face like a cat. Fur was pink, wore a nice looking blue blouse.  
    "Oh, hello Prince Fluff! It's an h-"  
    "I've got a question for you."  
    The cat egg tilted her head, coming out from behind the cardboard counter to talk to him properly. She was one of those floating eggs.. Heck, literally basically everything got to float except Fluff! So unfair.. He can brood on that later.  
    "What happened to my parents."  
    The woman was a bit taken-aback by the question. She looked around like she were in trouble or something. Clearing her throat, she began simply.  
    "Well, um, Prince Fluff.. Six years ago, a dragon named Fangora attacked the kingdom and your parents fought to protect it. They fought off the dragon, and it's never been seen since, but.. Your parents sort of.."  
    Fluff put it all together. Right then, there. It made sense. The lack of letters from their supposed 'vacation'.. Yin-Yarn wanting Fluff to play with orphans because they had something common.. The fact that his parents hadn't come back from something that should've lasted a month at most. How long was that poncho-wearing liar planning on keeping the truth from Fluff? For the rest of his life?  
    "Thanks."  
    Fluff nodded, then headed out without so much as another word. His eyes narrowed. Fluff had some amounts of rage in his heart. Hatred for 'Fangora', yes, but some of it was directed at his 'trusted' adviser as well.  
    In the sky, there's more thunder cracking. Fluff loves it. It's so just.. Satisfying and powerful. So cool. Okay, off topic.   
    Before Fluff can get back to the orphanage, he comes across Yin-Yarn, who floats on over to him like nothing's wrong.   
    "I was wondering where you went, young prince. I looked all over the orphanage for you."  
    The guy notices how Fluff's eyebrows are being properly used to show off how angry he is and instantly grows concerned.  
    "Is everything alright?"  
    "Oh yeah, everything's just peachy, mustache."  
    Another crackle of thunder from the sky. Things are darkening. Yin-Yarn takes a quick glance upwards then back to Fluff.  
    "How long did you think you could hide what happened to my parents from me?"  
    The question takes Yin-Yarn by surprise. The guy hesitates. He's nervous. He clearly knows the jig is up.  
    "You take me the- the orphanage to play with kids that are 'like me'. I thought you meant they were like me because we were all kids, but no! It's because I'm an orphan too! Why didn't you tell me?! You gave me all this.. This false hope that my parents were gonna come back from their 'vacation'! And you had the entire castle staff in on it too!"  
    Fluff yelled. Yin-Yarn looked sheepish for a moment before he calmed himself.  
    "Young prince.. I was planning to tell you. I just believed you simply weren't ready to hear the truth yet. You were too young to understand at the time, and I did not want to put the concept of being an orphan in your mind. It'd weigh on you, like it is right now."  
    "You lied to me!!"  
    "I concealed the truth for good reason, Fluff. I didn't want you to despair."  
    "Well you sure failed at that, huh?!"  
    Before Yin-Yarn could say more, Fluff ran off, tears brimming in his eyes like he was some protagonist in a drama flick. Yin-Yarn, however, was still much faster than Fluff, and more than easily caught up to him. Yin-Yarn grabbed the puff, holding him up above the ground so he couldn't go any further. Fluff's legs kicked in the air uselessly.  
    "I understand it's a lot to take in. This is why I wanted to wait, Fluff."  
    There's thunder crackling overhead. Fluff struggled still.  
    "Now, let's calm down and go back to the castle before it starts raining. We can talk more about it there."  
    "No! Let go of me! I hate you!"  
    Fluff cried, struggling more against Yin-Yarn's grasp. Slipping out like the orb he was, Fluff smacked his behind on the ground.   
    "Mom, dad.."  
    Fluff whined, shivering as his rage left him for exactly what Yin-Yarn said would befall him. Despair. Fluff doesn't have many memories of them, but.. He was still young enough to have some bond to his parents. He wants them back..  
    "Fluff.."  
    Yin-Yarn's was reaching out for Fluff. The blue-feeling blue boy slapped away the hand, anger sparking back up for a second.  
    "Don't touch me.."  
    Yin-Yarn obeyed, floating lower down to the ground to really level with Fluff here.  
    "Do you understand why I lied, Fluff?"  
    The wind is whistling.  
    "I don't want to see you sad or angry, like this. You were happy, if a bit irritated, during the time you were ignorant to their fates. The flood of emotions.. I was hoping to happen when you had a better grasp on the world around you, when you were more mature and able to handle the news."  
    More thunder.  
    "Do you understand that?"  
    Fluff's still crying. He was disoriented and couldn't think right. He needed some time, and Yin-Yarn more than realized that. The magician wrapped his disembodied hands around Fluff and pulled the child in for a light hug. Fluff clung to the guy's ugly poncho in a grip so strong someone would've sworn he had muscles.  
    "I know your parents are proud of you for what you've done in their absence. You're going to be a great ruler for all of Patch Land, Fluff."  
    Fluff hiccups at that, burying his face into the adviser's poncho more.  
    There's more thunder crackling. Yin-Yarn jumps.  
    ...  
    Wait.  
    That wasn't thunder.  
    Fluff, though his eyes were bleary, they went wide at what he heard.  
    No, that wasn't thunder. Not at all.  
    That was a roar.  
    "B-Back to the castle.."  
    Yin-Yarn sounds.. He sounds mortified. He grips onto Fluff tightly now, just as tight as Fluff was to him as he got up and flew through the streets. There's more roaring. It's getting louder. Fluff's got a face full of poncho, he can't exactly see past Yin-Yarn when he's being hugged like this. Fluff, however, can look upwards to see the sky is full of dark purple clouds. Those are definitely not natural.  
    As Yin-Yarn continues to fly, Fluff can feel wind growing more and more intense. Suddenly, Yin-Yarn goes extrodinarily fast and smashes face-first onto the ground, Fluff being thrown from his hands. Fluff is on the ground for a total of two seconds. In those two seconds, he sees this gigantic green dragon, with these strangely tiny red wings. It's directly facing and flying towards Fluff. Towards him and his adviser. It's wings are beating, and the powerful wind seems to come from them.  
    To say it's one of the most scariest things Fluff has ever seen is no understatement. When Yin-Yarn picks up Fluff again, Fluff saw the creature open its mouth to reveal it's fangs and arrow-like tongue.  
    "What is that??"  
    Fluff managed, but he got no response from Yin-Yarn. The guy was more focused on running than answering Fluff's question. And, like, fair enough, right. Fluff would be too, if he wasn't being carried.  
    The roars a very, very loud now. Fluff could've sworn he heard something explode right before Yin-Yarn managed to get into the castle's protective walls. When the two were absolutely safe, Yin-Yarn put Fluff safely on the floor, wavered a bit in the air, and wheezed like he was exhausted. Fluff could still hear the roars outside, and each one got a reaction out of his adviser.  
    Waddle Dee guards were rushing all over the place.  
    "Is that Fangora..?"  
    Fluff wondered aloud, watching the ruckus. He seemingly forgot all about his previous meltdown, because now Fluff felt strangely at peace. Like everything that was happening wasn't happening at all. Like this was a dream.  
    "Y-Yes.."  
    Yin-Yarn cleared his voice a bit.  
    "Young prince, you must go into the kitchens. From there, go into the kitchen's cellar. It's the safest part of the castle, and Fangora will not be able to get to you easily there. Not without tearing the whole castle apart first. Even then, you'll be perfectly safe."  
    Fluff just sorta sat on the floor, absorbing all this information.   
    "Do you understand?"  
    Fluff nodded.   
    "Then, please, go."  
    Fluff got up and followed his adviser's instructions. He moseyed down the hall in his weird relaxed state, all the way to the kitchens. All the while, he heard loud roars, the blowing wind, and the thunder without rain. It was like a blur. Like time didn't exist, but sure enough, Fluff went aaaall the way to the kitchens.   
    The kitchen was made out of some of the strongest stuff on the planet; actual rock. Not pseduo-rock. Actual rock. It had to be imported from other planets were the stuff is super common.. Then there's a hatch here made out of cardboard that lead to a cellar also made out of rock. It's like having a bunker.  
    Fluff uses his yarn whip to open the cellar up, looking down to a torch-lit food storage. Just as he did that, he suddenly snapped out of his trance. Fluff cracked his whip again, realizing he had a weapon. If he had a weapon.. He could fight. He could fight the thing that his parents fought..  
    He could beat up the thing that beat his parents into oblivion.  
    Fluff could enact revenge. In full.  
    Sounds good to him. Nothing wrong with that.  
    So, shutting the cellar door, he rushed back out of the kitchen, following the guards back outdoors. There's fire everywhere. A bunch of buildings are on fire. Oh jeez.. Fluff hoped the orphanage was fine. Hopefully Fangora didn't get to it.  
    Most of the guards are out and about putting the flames out. Fluff, however, is not a guard. He's a prince, and he's going to protect his land from this beast. Fluff hears roars and sounds of battle from.. Well, not here.   
    Following his ears, Fluff fights against the strong winds that wish to push his feet out from underneath him. He fights against fear, more than confident that he can protect people just like his parents did.  
    Powering through all the things that told him 'no', Fluff's eventually on the same street as Fangora is. The dragon is breathing these strangely slow meteors at the guards and things around it. Y'know, the last person Fluff expected to be there, fighting Fangora, was Yin-Yarn, but the guy's there anyways. Fluff rushed forwards, growing closer and closer to the battle. Fangora seemed to notice, because it roared in all its attackers faces.   
    Infuriated, the dragon reeled its head back. Everyone gasped and ran.. Except Fluff. Fluff didn't take a hint. As Yin-Yarn floated away, he saw Fluff just stoically standing in the face of the scaley green destroyer. He grabbed Fluff by the nub and basically forced the prince to run. It's a good thing he did too, because man.. When Fangora opened its mouth again, a column of fire was unleashed right where Fluff was previously standing.  
    Once they were far enough away, Fluff ripped himself from Yin-Yarns grasp. The fight was still going on behind Fluff. He could hear it. The two were just slightly out of its distance.  
    "Back to the castle, Fluff! Now! You can't be out here!"  
    "I can do what I want, mustache! I'm going to avenge my parents!"  
    "You're going to end up just like them is what you're going to do!!"  
    Yin-Yarn is super emotional about this. It's really odd to see him so blatant about his feelings like this. Well, maybe that wasn't the right way to phrase it, but it's all Fluff could phrase it as right now.  
    "N-"  
    "I'm not going to lose you like I lost them! Get back into the castle! Now!"  
    He barked again. 'Them'? Who? Wait, his parents, right-  
    Suddenly, Yin-Yarn gasps and backhands Fluff so hard that it causes Fluff to fly. See, the guy used his hand to smack Fluff horizontally away from himself.. Fluff was about to complain as he caught himself from falling (wow the dude hit really hard), but he was stunned silent.   
    He'd never heard Yin-Yarn scream before. Much less in pain.  
    The adviser had smacked Fluff for a good reason. He'd smacked the kid out of the way of one of Fangora's flaming meteors, only to take the full brunt of the attack himself. He'd stuck his hands out infront of him in order to deter the meteor, but.. It probably would've been better if he didn't. The yarn that made up Yin-Yarn's hands were on fire and were getting weaker by the moment.  
    Fluff sat there for half a second. A half a second too long. He used his whip, grabbing the meteor and neutralizing its fire as he wrapped it into just normal fabrics. Yin-Yarn's hands were still on fire. He was still screaming. Fluff looked frantically around for something. Anything that could put out fire.. Oh, right, he's got something to smother it in his hands.  
    "Put them on the ground!"  
    Fluff yelled, and his adviser obeyed. He began to smother the other's hands with the yarn ball, but soon, another meteor from Fangora came their way. It's actually exactly what Fluff needed, actually. Grabbing it out of the air with his whip, he wrapped it up and neutralized its flame once more. He pressed that against his adviser's other hand, hearing the fellow's screams devolve into just regular pained noises.  
    Yeah, that's certainly not going to scar Fluff later.  
    With Yin-Yarn basically down for the count, Fluff looked towards the dragon again. It seemed to be getting quite out of breath.. Panting, even. It's tongue was out, and Fluff could see a large bead at the end of it. Beads could usually be grabbed onto using whips. Perfect.  
    Fluff ran into battle, going as quick as he could in order to grab onto Fangora's tongue with his whip. Sure enough, he's got the creature, and it seems to be a weak point with how Fangora is pulling against him so harshly. So, giving a good yank, he lets go of the tongue for it to snap back into Fangora's face, making the creature stumble back. The yarn that made up its body faltered.   
    Another roar from the creature as it took to the sky, flapping its wings to so harshly it flung Fluff and multiple other guards backwards. Its head reeled back, and flames came from its mouth moments later, catching buildings on fire as flamethrowers did.  
    Fluff watched as it landed again, shaking the ground as it did. More meteors came, only for Fluff to grab them and fling them right back at the creature. They didn't do anything, but man was it satisfying to smack this thing right in it's gigantic snout.  
    Its arrow-like tongue shot out, trying to impale Fluff, but the kid was much too quick and the creature just up licking the road instead. Its tongue retracted back into its mouth, only to immediately come back out with the dragon panting.  
    Another use of his whip, another pull back on the tongue, then slapping it back into Fangora's face. It's yarn rippled and now looked weak. Like it was about to be destroyed. It roared, flapping its wings, and retreated. Fangora was apparently smart enough to realize when it's beaten. Taking to the sky, it took its purple clouds with it as it left.  
    "I want someone to go and find where that dragon's hiding and tell me when they find it."  
    Fluff commanded the nearby Waddle Dee guards, who nodded attentively. 

 

* * *

  
    When yarn gets weak and frail, there's no way to repair it. It stays that way forever. It was very common for yarn to get weak in those who were fatally injured or old. Yin-Yarn was one of those things. The fire that burnt him had gotten him so well that the yarn for both of his hands were frail. It looked raggedy, more string-like and less healthy in general.   
    Whilst Yin-Yarn spent his time in the infirmary, Fluff had spent making commands to hunt down Fangora so he could do the creature in for good. Because clearly, his parents didn't do a good enough job, so he was going to finish it for them. Plus, he had the dragon down on the ropes once, he could do it again more than easily. He was going to beat that scaly menace up if it was the last thing he ever did.  
    Meanwhile, most of Quilty Square had been burnt. A lot of buildings had to be completely rebuilt because of the fires. So, lots of discussion at the dining table happened about spendings and how things were going. Fluff felt like he was doing something with this. His orders at the breakfast dining table were being listened to, and his rage towards the dragon was more than approved of by the aristocrats.  
    So, when purple clouds were spotted over Grass Land, Fluff was informed immediately. With the mature rage of a proper king, Fluff was about to head off to the neighboring land to go settle a score. But first, he had to go talk to someone.  
    Traversing the castle, he entered the infirmary, where Yin-Yarn still rested in a white blanketed bed. He was sat up, so he was clearly awake.  
    "Hey, mustache."  
    Fluff greeted, walking on over to the guy's bed and taking a seat on the nearby cushioned chair.  
    "Hello young prince. What's the orders for today?"  
    "Fangora's clouds are over Grass Land, and I'm going to go get rid of it."  
    There's a nice silence.  
    "Please don't."  
    "Well, who else is going to do it, mustache? You? You can't even pick up a pencil without wincing, much less slap a dragon across the face."  
    "Take some of the guards with you, at the very least."  
    "Yeah, yeah, I will."  
    "And be careful."  
    "Like I'll need to-"  
    "This is a dragon. It breaths fire. It can do this to you," Yin-Yarn brought his own frail hand out from under the covers like he was showing it off, "and it can burn buildings in minutes. You should not underestimate it, even if you managed to fight it without so much as a scratch before, you still need to be cautious. One hit could spell disaster. And with it being weakened, there's not a single doubt in my mind that it'll fight you as hard as it possibly can."  
    Fluff didn't have much of a retort. He just sorta.. Got up and got up real close to Yin-Yarn's bed, touching the dude's permanently messed up hand with his nub. The magician winced, but he was fine.  
    "Look,  _dad_ ," Fluff was snide about the 'dad' part, "I promise I'll be back home before lunch, if it makes you happy. I promise I'll be fine."  
    "And I don't suppose I'll be able to say anything that'll change your mind about this,  _son_?"  
    "Nope. I'll see you in a bit, mustache. I've got a dragon problem to get rid of."  
    With that, Fluff let go of the fellow's hand, departed from the bedside, and left the infirmary. He gave a nod to the two Waddle Dees who stood guard outside the door before he moved on.   
    A quick visit to the barracks, he rallied a few brave guards to take with him. They armed themselves with spears, bows, all that good stuff, but Fluff didn't need anything like that. He's got his yarn whip, and it worked mighty fine against the dragon, so that's what he's going to use. After a few minutes, Fluff's walking out of the castle with a small group of guards behind him.  
    The civilians who watch him pass by give him their praises and murmurs of 'good luck'. He waved to them almost sheepishly as he crossed the obvious border between Quilty Square and Grass Land. One side was full pathing and all that, then suddenly all the buildings stopped on a nice fine line, as well as all the roads. From there, it's all denim grass.  
    Fluff marched on, looking up towards the clouds, hearing the distant roars of the beast he was meant to fight. They were atop a big vine.. A Big-Bean Vine, to be precise. Mustering up his courage, he and his Waddle Dee friends began the ascent up the vine.  
    They faced little opposition, because it's literally just a vine. It's not like there's meant to be enemies or monsters on a big vine, so, like.. Yeah. It's just a matter of actually getting up there.   
    It's a matter of hours before the top's reached. The last few branches seem to be withered and dying, weak and frail. Regardless, they've made it up all the way up to the clouds themselves, where Fangora was waiting for them. Waiting for him. It looked just as scraggly as it did back in town. Just the way yarn works. It was weak then, it's weak still. There's no chance to heal.  
    A battle, much like the one waged in the square, was waged here again. Fangora fought smart, trying to knock them all off of its cloud. While a few Waddle Dees toppled and fell over and down (only to deploy their plastic balloons and float to safety), Fluff did not.  
    Though the dragon tried its hardest, breathing fire, throwing meteors, Fluff was able to dodge and parry. While Fluff wasn't the most fit kid in the world, he was still a kid. He had energy. He wasn't as fast as other kids, but he was most certainly fast enough to dodge the dragon's attacks. Fast enough to grab them with his whip and fling them back.  
    Fangora was out of breath by the time Fluff was as well. Through the exhaustion, Fluff still grabbed onto the dragon's panting tongue with his whip, and pulled it especially back.   
    "For my parents, you filthy animal!"  
    Fluff yelled, letting go of the tongue and having it smack into the dragon once more. With that, it was over. Fangora turned into nothing but mere string, and its bits drifted away on the winds it used to so easily command. It was no more, and it was going to stay that way.  
    Fluff panted, brushed himself off, cried a bit from relief, then headed back down the bean stalk with his Waddle Dees.  
    Thankfully, they didn't have to climb back down. The balloons they brought helped with the whole just 'gliding down to safety' thing. A lot less time consuming than going back down the beanstalk.  
    The walk back to Quilty Square was a quiet one, but sure enough.. Once they got back, it was lunch time. Fluff smiled, smug at the fact that he'd fulfilled his promise. Not that there was any doubt in the first place, but whatever.  
    Time to head back to the castle for some good news.  
    Sure enough, as soon as Fluff's back in the halls, people are basically partying when he tells them what happened. Fluff's smiling this huge smile the entire time, taking pride in being a legitimate dragonslayer.   
    All the joy and what not lead to a great lunch.. Which Yin-Yarn wasn't present for, but it was still pretty great regardless of his absence. Fluff basically ate his face off with some sweets directly from Treat Land. Though, over lunch, something concerned him.  
    "Hey, what happened to the orphanage we built?"  
    Fluff suddenly asked, catching the attention of one of the other adults at the table.  
    "It was burnt down. The children are staying in Dom Woole's apartment building until it gets rebuilt."  
    "Hey, why didn't you tell me this? Have the kids come stay in the castle, for goodness sake!"  
    "Uh, that's not really my-"  
    "Well go tell whoever's in charge of that stuff to let the kids stay in the castle, and say the order's from me."  
    "Sure, Prince Fluff. After lunch?"  
    "Yeah, after lunch."  
    

* * *

  
    "And that's how I slayed Fangora!"  
    "Woooaahhh!"  
    All the kids were super impressed with Fluff's story. Yeah, they should be! He was a prince and a dragonslayer now! Man, there really is nothing better than having all his peers sit down infront of his throne whilst he was telling them about how cool he was. Fluff's even got the posture of a guy who was so cool that he couldn't sit on the throne like a normal person.  
    "Were you scared?"  
    "Nope!"  
    "How big was it?"  
    "Like, seven times my size."  
    "And you fought it all by yourself?"  
    "Yup! You can ask any one of the Waddle Dees that was there and they'll tell you the same thing!"  
    Fluff finally sat nice and proper in his chair.   
    "So, how about we all go play in the castle courtyard, yeah?"  
    "Yeah!"  
    All the other orphans went and moseyed on out of the throne room with Fluff tagging close behind. Though he was a bit more learnt than these kids, he finally felt like he was earning his place amongst them. He was accepted as a fellow orphan, as a person who belonged and deserved to be friends with these kids.. Even if he was a bit unlearnt on regular kid stuff.  
    As Fluff and the other kids got outside, Fluff watched all the others spread out amongst the courtyard to do their things. It felt great, knowing he could join in on anyone there and just do whatever. He belong to all the friend groups. Fantastic. Fluff looked over the other kids like a gardener over their healthy crops.   
    "Young prince.."  
    Fluff turned to see Yin-Yarn floating a small distance behind him.  
    "Oh hey, mustache. Finally got outta bed, huh?"  
    "And you've finally made friends with the other children, I see."  
    Yin-Yarn went and floated by the prince's side.  
    "How're the grabbers?"  
    "..The grabbers?"  
    "Your hands."  
    Fluff noticed how they had stayed inside the poncho for the entirety of this small conversation. Normally, they were out by now. Well, he sure enough pulls one of the things out. It looks exactly like it did back when Yin-Yarn was stuck in the infirmary.   
    "They'll be like this permanently.. But at least I still have them."  
    Yin-Yarn chuckles like he said a joke, even though nothing that he said was funny whatsoever. He puts his hand back into his poncho.  
    "Your parents would probably ground you, you know. For going out and fighting that dragon."  
    "Yeah, well, they aren't around, so-"  
    "So I'm going to ground you instead."  
    "What?! Hey! You're not my dad!"  
    "You called me dad before you went off to go fight."  
    "That was a joke!"  
    "Well, you're grounded anyways."  
    "Phooey! You can't ground me, I'm the prince!"  
    "And I'm the royal adviser."  
    Yin-Yarn's got this smile on his face that's just like Fluff's sorta smiles. Smug. Man, Fluff would slap this guy for the look, but Yin-Yarn was waaaayyy too tall for Fluff to ever slap properly. The nubs didn't reach that high even if Fluff were on his tippy toes.  
    "Not that I think you'll be wanting to leave the castle much now that you've got all your friends living in it."  
    "Yeah, but you're still grounding me!"  
    "Oh, so now you want to be grounded?"  
    "That's not what I meant, mustache!"  
    Yin-Yarn just laughed at that. Fluff huffed and turned his head towards the sky, anywhere to show that he was not going to pay attention to his adviser anymore. Fluff blinks. Y'know.. He could've sworn he saw a purple cloud up there. 


End file.
